Week(s) in Review
December 2, 2013
Hi everyone,
I hope each of you had a great Thanksgiving break and safe travels. We have an intense three weeks ahead, but soon we'll have another well-deserved break.
The next three weeks will indeed be fairly intense. Next Monday, we will have our Book Bonanza. Please make sure you take time to sign up for your part of the day in the Dean's Office. On Monday the 16th, we will again co-host the 12 Gadgets event. This year will be a little different, in that the food for the event will be catered.
This upcoming Friday is a Board of Regents meeting. Before the break, I met with the President and several regents to prep them for two motions coming to the full Board regarding library renovations. For renovations that cost more than $600k, the university must have legislative authorization. Currently, renovating Waterfield is not in the six-year capital plan (since when the capital plan was passed, we were still focused on requesting funding for a new building), and renovations to Pogue are listed toward the end of the six-year plan. The two motions coming to the Board are changes to the capital plan, which will be approved by the state in the upcoming spring legislative session. This is a procedural vote that positions us so that we may begin planning for large-scale renovations in both buildings.
At the state-level, negotiations on a replacement for our Voyager system are moving surprisingly well. It is quite possible that KYVL will sign a contract for the new Alma system before the end of the calendar year. I have been serving as project leader on this effort, because of my time on KYVL's executive board; further steps include updates to the Provost's Council for the state, letters to legislators, and finalizing a cost-share formula for the SAALCK member institutions. Much of this should move towards a conclusion at the December 13 SAALCK directors meeting. At no other point has the state reached the momentum that it has now on a Voyager replacement initiative; I truly hope we are able to keep this momentum going.
Locally, one large project for the University Libraries within the next three weeks is the soft launch of the libraries' new website. Don has been working on a design for the front page, and many of you have put together content for sub-pages using LibGuides. This is on track, and all should be ready for a hard launch at the start of the new semester.
Finally, I'll also be spending some quality time with the QEP over these next three weeks. The QEP is due to the Provost's office during our last week before the Winter Holidays. The draft is nearly done, but given that review of the QEP constitutes half of the on-site team's focus, it is critically important that we have it right.
While on the subject of SACS and the university's re-accreditation, I do have some very cool news to report. The President and the Provost's office have received the response of the off-site review team, and there were only a few minor categories requiring a follow up report for the on-site team. Within their report, the off-site team noted several observations, the very first of which was a glowing report on the library. Specifically, the report stated "the library does an excellent job of its collection development, analysis, and budgeting. Library instruction and public service offerings cover all of the current innovations in academic librarianship. The library faculty and staff should be commended for its high level of service to the institution." This observation will be read by many university leaders over the next few weeks as the off-site team's report circulates and we gear up for our on-site team visit in February. Thanks again to everyone who helped write our self-study narrative, and to all for their day-to-day work that leads to such recognition of excellence.
Have a great week,
Adam